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Monday, May 14, 2012

Christian Homes: "Godly Wisdom"

Spirit & Truth # 272

“ChristianHomes: Godly Wisdom”

By Greg Smith

In
these weeks between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, I want to spend some time
with you talking about Christian homes.
Psalm 68:6 (NIV) says, “God sets the lonely in families.” From the day that God created Eve for Adam, God
was in the business of making marriages.
The Lord gave them beautiful children, and the human population has been
growing ever since. Sometimes, families
have made godly choices, and other times they have made worldly decisions. Nevertheless, God still draws us to Himself.

Today,
families are under attack. Satan, the
“Father of Lies (John 8:44)” has
deluded half our nation into believing that the government has the right to
change the definition of marriage from God’s original intent. In reality, government can no more redefine
the meaning of marriage than it can redefine the meaning of words like “table”
or “itchy” or “murder.” (Wait…sometimes
government tries to redefine “murder” as well.)
The problem is that government forgets that it didn’t invent
marriage. From the beginning, marriage
was never a human institution. It was
created by God, to be for one man and one woman, for life. A government that thinks it can redefine
marriage as something that it’s not is a government that believes itself to be
God, instituting things like right and wrong at the whim of the people. Such a government has lost its moral compass,
along with the people who believe that morality is a relative thing to be decided
by a vote.

Isaiah
5:20-21 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness
for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for
bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own
sight.” Isaiah laments the spiritual
plight of those who call sin acceptable.
He grieves for those who use words like “intolerant, bigoted, or stupid”
to describe people who uphold the truth of God’s word and the morality that God
calls His people to endorse.

The
author of Ephesians 5:15-18 (NIV) says, “Be very careful, then, how you live
—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the
days are evil. Therefore do not be
foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to
debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

These
words are just as true today as they were nearly two thousand years ago. Rather than following the opinion of godless
society in evil days, God’s word calls us to godly wisdom. God calls people foolish who don’t seek to
understand what His will is, but instead allow good and evil to be defined by
their own flawed opinions. Sin will
always be popular, but God calls His people to holiness. Instead of being controlled by vice,
Christians should be filled with the Spirit.
Only when we allow the Spirit of holiness to influence our decisions,
rather than following the politically correct opinions of ear-tickling,
vote-seeking politicians, can we know true wisdom in these evil days.

I
invite you to journey with me for the next six weeks as together we find out
what the book of Ephesians says about Christian homes. Maybe you’ll be inspired. Perhaps you’ll get angry. Hopefully, you’ll be challenged by God’s
word, and decide to commit your family to living a godly life.

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Why Is My Blog Called "Love the Word?"

So I was finally convinced to move into the 21st century and start a blog. What to name it?I've never liked those corny preacher-related email addresses like praisethelordimsavedandpreachingforjesus@hotmail.com. (My apologies if that's a real email address.) They seem disingenuous (isn't that a great word? According to the rhymezone.com dictionary it means "not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness.) I'd rather have a title for my blog that says what it is, and means it.

Then it hit me. "Love The Word." What could be more authentic, bona fide, genuine, literal, real, sincere, true, unveigned, unquestionable, and veritable than that?

I Love The Word.This can mean more than one thing, of course.

The Book of John, chapter 1 (NLT) says of Jesus:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. So it's quite obvious, isn't it? I love The Word--Jesus Himself, without whom there would be no you, no me, no blog for that matter.

But my blog title means something else as well. I love the word. My kids call me a 'word nerd.' I love words. I love what you can do with them--the impact they can make on people's lives. I love the history of words, both in English and in the other languages I've studied (Latin, Spanish, Greek). As a pastor, I use words as I preach every week, to try to impart the truth of The Word--Jesus. As a writer, I use words to share ideas, entertain, and inspire. So, as a typical 'word nerd' I had to come up with a blog title that truly embodied my affinity for both the Logos and the phrase.

On this blog you'll find my random thoughts. You'll also find a link to "Spirit and Truth," a weekly column I write for the southern Virginia newspaper, The Southside Messenger. In addition, you're likely to find various musings on some of my favorite topics including writing, family, the Christian life, and more. Thanks for stopping in. My hope is that you'll love the word as much as I do.

This Day in History

About Me

I am the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Scottsburg, Virginia, and have been in ministry over half my life.
I have been published in several newspapers, and write a weekly column entitled "Spirit and Truth" in The Southside Messenger, which has a circulation in southside Virginia.
I have four beautiful children and three wonderful grandbabies, some of whom live with me.